Lurkers Please Introduce Yourself =)

[maverick]

Hi Phoenix2000,

See you did not received an official welcoming back in 2011, so welcome to HST!
Looking forward to reading your TR when you get back from your Emigrant trip.

[LonePine]

Hello Everyone,

I work as a computer programmer and systems analyst. Sitting behind a desk at sea level with only 3 weeks vacation makes my treks into the Sierra challenging. Been 'packing 5 years now. At age 65 my first hike was across the Sierra (west to east). Entered at Mineral King, exited at Horseshoe Meadows. I was sick the entire time with altitude induced diabetes. (How does that happen? When your potassium level is insufficient to keep generating insulin.) My shoes tore a hole in my feet. Two lessons learned. Pack too heavy - lesson 3.

I hike alone because most people my age don't want to do this stuff and younger hikers are too fast. I have completed the JMT in sections, did Baxter Pass to Kearsarge last September. Next week I'm up Kearsarge Pass to Charlotte's dome, then JMT to Wallace Lake then Whitney via the Mountaineer's route. September I'll try the first leg of Ropers High Sierra route to Bishop Pass.

I've been most impressed with Kathy Wing's trips. She posts on this site and I've seen her web site of journeys - http://kathywing.smugmug.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. I can only say WOW.

Thanks everyone for the inspiration and information!

Walt

[maverick]

Hi Walt,

Welcome to HST! Hope to read your TR's in the futures, and yes Kathy W. has
cool site. Good luck on the SHR, have fun and be safe.
Consider using are HST ReConn Form for an additonal level of safety for your trip: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10192#p76926" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[SpiritStag]

Hello all,
I've been on here for awhile now trying to get tips and familiarize myself with different parts of the Sierra. Figured it was about time to introduce myself. I try to do at least one trip to the Sierra each year. Last year was Sabrina Basin and this year I've got a few trips lined up to North Fork Big Pine Creek, Mineral King (Timber Gap, HST, Sawtooth Pass) and Bear Lakes Basin (Pine Creek TH). I really appreciate all the posts and info. This site an awesome resource. I live in San Gabriel and wouldn't mind meeting up with any interested local folks to talk trips and experience. I'm 41 work in real estate and have been backpacking over 10 years now...longest trip was Mosquito Flat to Duck Pass and done several shorter trips including Rae Lakes Loop. I hike solo, with a friend or my wife when she feels adventurous.
Have a great summer!

[maverick]

Hi SpiritStag

Welcome to HST! Thanks for come on officially, looking forward to your future
contributions to the HST community.

[Tom_H]

Tom_H, It'd be pretty cool if you posted some of your past TR's on this forum.

Hi Russ,

I have posted a little regarding past trips. The truth is that the vast majority of my trips involved teaching others the basics. They mostly were many years ago, and they were spread around in other states-CO, NM, VA, NC, GA, though I have hiked on my own a bit in OR, WA, AZ, VT, NH, and HI. Since I worked as a guide, most trips were in the same places with not great amounts of variation in routes. That's why I know too much about 2 areas of the Sierra and little about others. We always had an actual facility, usually a conference center of some kind that was in the foothills of an area. We would outfit our trips and could not venture too far away for logistical reasons. For all those years, the trip was not so much about my own adventure, but about teaching others what a great experience backpacking can be, thus my memories have more to do with interpersonal relationships with others as opposed to my own wilderness experience. (Here's an example: a contrast of two 13 or 14 year old boys on differing trips. In 1978 on the Bartram Trail in N GA, I had a boy who suffered from Muscular Dystrophy. His right leg was withered and twisted. I was greatly concerned, but the boy had a letter from a doctor attesting to the boy's tenacity and resolve, assuring me that he could do it. This boy insisted on carrying his own weight. He hobbled on every step. Every quarter mile he would fall flat on his face. And yet time after time, this boy would laugh a giggling laugh at himself, struggle to his feet on his own, and keep going. He never showed a sign of discouragement or displayed anything other than a mood of joy. I can tell you nobody on that trip complained about anything as they watched this child struggle along and exude nothing but happiness about being in the mountains. Then there was the wuss from Vacaville [No, that is not a misspelling of Russ!], in 1982 who complained endlessly from Kennedy Meadows to Emigrant Meadow. When he got there, he fell on the ground moaning, rolling in the dirt, pretending to be hallucinating aloud French and screaming in pain when we touched the area of the appendix. I did not want to do it, but finally had to send my assistant instructor and strongest participant back to Kennedy Meadows to call for a helicopter. The bird flew into the basin just after dusk and finally spotted my SOS. The boy was still in the sleeping bag moaning and groaning, but as the chopper touched down, the kid sprang up with a happy smile on his face, ran and jumped right in through the door as the crew opened it. They flew him to a hospital in Merced and found him to be in perfect health. I was livid, but had the appendicitis been real and I'd not evacuated...... So this is the range of my typical adventures as an instructor. I'll bet WD can tell you some stories too.) I imagine many of my student/participants have gone on to hike a far greater variety of places than I and to have broader experiences than I. I know some became accomplished climbers. Also, not all of my trips were backpacking. I led canoeing trips too. Some were canoe camping trips, and some were whitewater only; we would set up a base camp in a campground and took the canoes to different nearby inputs on the river each day. We did canoeing trips in GA and also here in CA on the Klamath, Trinity, Feather, and Moke. My winter trips were mostly in NC and CO, though I did some early spring trips on cold snowpack in Deso and Emigrant. All of the trips I consider real adventures were in CO or NC and so are mostly misplaced here. I have not actually had the opportunity to just head off into the unknown as much as I would like. Usually, that for me was scouting a new area in which I hoped to lead groups. As such, most days were 20 mile days, stopping often to quickly assess various areas for their potential in camping, water source, and climbing/rappelling. Those kind of scouting trips offered no time to stop and enjoy, only to gather intel in as much detail and as quickly as possible.

When we adopted my daughter 19 years ago, I took a hiatus from backpacking for about 15 years. These last 4 years I have only been able to get out for 1 or 2 short trips per summer. I love my wife dearly, and since she has wrecked both knees completely, I just don't feel right leaving her at home by herself. Now that I am entering my 7th decade on the planet, my body doesn't absorb the punishment like it used to. Asthma, OSA, and my hips have become a hindrance.

So, these days I have little to offer in current TRs. I did post a short one last summer. Mostly what I have to offer (hopefully) is making newcomers to the forum feel welcome and offering advice on the places I do know well. Maybe this background gives a glimpse into why I offer the kind of advice that I do. There are a few people with whom I have had long series of PMs with to discuss equipment and purchase choices. I love pouring over maps and dreaming so I have fun marking up maps for myself as well as for others when they inquire about an area I'm familiar with. While I enjoy marking up maps,I don't actually create them; I simply share the name of a guy who does. It's a pretty common surname for people born in the deep south.

[rlown]

and, those TR's are where?

point me.

and you have my number. call me. we can work out stuff.

[tallkan]

Hey tallkan here, real name's Adan. Ive used this forum dozens of times and thought it was time to come out of the woodworks. I'm a tall bearded 40 year old married dude, dad of 3 active daughters age 10-15. My wife is awesome, she loves adventure as much as I do, and she knows how to please her man...let him go to the mountains, often.

I've been camping and flyfishing in the sierras since I got my own car at 17. Backpacking and running took over about 5 years ago. Now canyoneering and bouldering a tiny bit, mostly in the San Gabriels so far but hoping to start taking this up to the sierras as well.

I want to meet more cool outdoorsy people, do more hard stuff, drink beers by campfires under stars, swim naked in icy tarns, grab the moon by the tail. but most of all, i want my girls to know the peace and clarity and strength that comes from the mountains. Thats my dream.

iPhoneOct2011 547.jpg

[maverick]

Hi Adan,

Welcome to HST! Great looking family !

[Bluewater]

Hey Adan, welcome to HST. We met (briefly) at the SoCal GGG recently. Looks like you have an awesome family and it's very cool to see your love of the outdoors being passed on to the next generation. My wife is also understanding of my need for adventure in the backcountry. I have limited social skills around the campfire:), but maybe we could hit the southern Sierra sometime. Andy.

I was with Candy, we were the couple with the homemade backpacks.


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